Monday, February 28, 2011
Drama Blog- A Raisin in the Sun
I did not like Walter at all in this play. He is so selfish and thinks only of himself. He is only concerned about his own dreams, which is obvious when he losses all of the money that was supposed to be for both him and Beneatha (page 129). This is obvious that his dreams are his only concern. Also, when Mama tells him that Ruth is pregnant, he is not even happy or says anything to Ruth at all about it. This makes him so inconsiderate of her feelings and treats her badly. He also makes it clear that he has little respect for her in the beginning by pretty much saying she is not attractive when he says that she "looks yound this morning" but then quickly says "just for a second" and "it's gone now" (page 27). Walter is just so rude!!!!! Lastly, he is irresponsible. He goes out and drinks, doesn't go to work, and losses the money. He acts like a child! I mean even Travis asks on page 107 if he is drunk. That is just terrible for a kid to have to ask a parent that. He is only ten, and Walter is setting a terrible example for him.
Drama Blog- A Raisin in the Sun
#5
The major theme of this play presents itself in the very beginning of the play in the poem "Dreams Deffered" by Langston Hughes. This play revolves around the dreams of each of the people living in the house. This poem tells of the different ways that the dreams can fold out. The dreams of the family members are illustrated in the play, but the play still has other parts to it. It is not completely didactic, but the lessons it teaches are effective through this play. An example of one of the dreams would be Mama's dream of owning a home. Unlike most of the other dreams, hers actually comes true. It is difficult to overcome some of the difficulties and obstacles, such as the Welcoming Commitee, but in the end she is able to successfully fulfill her dream. We see this when Walter tells Lindner that they "decided to move into our house" (page 148). This shows a dream that "explodes" like the poem says since it is achieved and it is standing up against those who do not want them to move in. In contrast, the dream of Walter dries up "like a raisin in the son". He tried to invest in the liquor store, but the dream quickly was unable to happen. This play provides thematic material in each of the characters to support the them of dreams.
The major theme of this play presents itself in the very beginning of the play in the poem "Dreams Deffered" by Langston Hughes. This play revolves around the dreams of each of the people living in the house. This poem tells of the different ways that the dreams can fold out. The dreams of the family members are illustrated in the play, but the play still has other parts to it. It is not completely didactic, but the lessons it teaches are effective through this play. An example of one of the dreams would be Mama's dream of owning a home. Unlike most of the other dreams, hers actually comes true. It is difficult to overcome some of the difficulties and obstacles, such as the Welcoming Commitee, but in the end she is able to successfully fulfill her dream. We see this when Walter tells Lindner that they "decided to move into our house" (page 148). This shows a dream that "explodes" like the poem says since it is achieved and it is standing up against those who do not want them to move in. In contrast, the dream of Walter dries up "like a raisin in the son". He tried to invest in the liquor store, but the dream quickly was unable to happen. This play provides thematic material in each of the characters to support the them of dreams.
Drama Blog- A Raisin in the Sun
#1
This play would be considered realistic. The people and situations in this play are universal. A reader can compare each person to someone they know or have observed in today's world. For example, Walter and Ruth are a couple who constantly fights. On page 34, Ruth says to Walter that "I listen to you every day, every night and every morning, and you never say anything new". I think that this is kind of funny because we can easily find a couple who gets annoyed since they are always around one another. Also, the play has a realistic struggles. The time period of this is during the Civil Rights Movement. Since it is focused around a black family, the struggles they face, such as moving into a new house and getting a job, are understandable. I mean there are some point where it is exaggerated or unreal. Like when Walter is drunk yelling an African word while Bennie dances in her African outfit on pages 78-79. Overall though, the play employs realistic qualities that the audience can either relate to or at least understand to a certain extent.
This play would be considered realistic. The people and situations in this play are universal. A reader can compare each person to someone they know or have observed in today's world. For example, Walter and Ruth are a couple who constantly fights. On page 34, Ruth says to Walter that "I listen to you every day, every night and every morning, and you never say anything new". I think that this is kind of funny because we can easily find a couple who gets annoyed since they are always around one another. Also, the play has a realistic struggles. The time period of this is during the Civil Rights Movement. Since it is focused around a black family, the struggles they face, such as moving into a new house and getting a job, are understandable. I mean there are some point where it is exaggerated or unreal. Like when Walter is drunk yelling an African word while Bennie dances in her African outfit on pages 78-79. Overall though, the play employs realistic qualities that the audience can either relate to or at least understand to a certain extent.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Drama Blog- The Glass Menagerie
Amanda can be dramatic, selfish, manipulative, and controlling. We addressed this in class, and at first I totally agreed. She was so hard on Tom and tried to control and almost live through Linda. Although I thought this at first, I am beginning to see that she really does care about her kids. In class, someone said that she loves her kids, but her approach is the problem. After reading the first six scenes, I completely agree with this statement. I mean all moms can nag and make us angry, but Amanda just seems to do it all the time. She is so obsessed and worried about her children that she does not realize how she truly treats them. It seems as if she is just being hard towards Tom concering his job. However, she says "How do you think we'd manage if you were-" (page 1247). This implies that she is worried for making their lives a good as they can be. She loves her son, but she relies on him so much. I do not think that she was trying to be hard on him like saying he is terrible and not good at working. Rather, she is just taking her worries and stress out on him. She may do this, but she also shows little parts where she is caring about her kids and wants the best for them. For example, on page 1251, she says to Tom "Promise, son, you'll-never be a drunkard". This is one scene that shows that she is concerned and worried her son could potentially ruin himself. I think that her way of showing love is warning and trying to make them perfect so that there is no way their life can be bad or screwed up in any way. When I think of Amanda, I think of one of the women in the show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. My sister and I watched this together, and one of the women said she dedicated her life to her kids and that all she cared about were them. Just like Amanda, she showed her love in ways that made the kids mad or annoyed with her. She was trying to keep her daughter from going away for the summer, but this only made the daughter annoyed rather than make he stay. She lived through her kids and didn't have a life outside of that, which is what I think Amanda does.
Drama Blog- The Glass Menagerie
#6
The physical effects play an important role in this play. Unlike Shakespeare, Williams has every single detail of what is physically going to happen in the stage directions. I think that this is the case because he wants to emphasize the non verbal communication in the play. An example of the sets and stage movements would be on at the beginning of each scene. In the opening of Scene Two (page 1240), the stage directions explictly reveal the nervousness of Laura and intensifies the fear she has in the scene of her mother learning she has not been going to school. The actions and physical descriptions of Laura make this scene so clear that you can see the fear she has without her saying it out loud. I think that this also reinforces Amanda's effects on her children. Linda is obviously petrified of her mother, and the stage directions and movements make this point even stronger. Also, the Tennessee Williams uses the play's physical effects frequently in the play, which shows he wants to relay the enviornement to the audience. His play is more then just words. This physical part of the play makes it more realistic as well.
The physical effects play an important role in this play. Unlike Shakespeare, Williams has every single detail of what is physically going to happen in the stage directions. I think that this is the case because he wants to emphasize the non verbal communication in the play. An example of the sets and stage movements would be on at the beginning of each scene. In the opening of Scene Two (page 1240), the stage directions explictly reveal the nervousness of Laura and intensifies the fear she has in the scene of her mother learning she has not been going to school. The actions and physical descriptions of Laura make this scene so clear that you can see the fear she has without her saying it out loud. I think that this also reinforces Amanda's effects on her children. Linda is obviously petrified of her mother, and the stage directions and movements make this point even stronger. Also, the Tennessee Williams uses the play's physical effects frequently in the play, which shows he wants to relay the enviornement to the audience. His play is more then just words. This physical part of the play makes it more realistic as well.
Drama Blog- The Glass Menagerie
#1
This play employs both realistic and nonrealistic qualities. The realistic part would be that these characters are more modern compared to other plays we have read. They speak in a more modern way, unlike the Shakespeare. Also, some of the qualitites of them can be related to others in our life or seen in today's world. An example would be Amanda's anger towards her husband leaving them, or Tom's annoyance towards his mother. All of this can be relateable. I would say the play has some more nonrealistic qualities though. In the play, the fact that Tom is "the narrator of the play and also an character in it" (p 1236) is very unrealistic. I mean he is telling a story as if it is in the past, but at some parts he is acting like it is happening right then. It is kind of confusing, and very nonrealistic. Also, Tom finding a man so quickly to bring home is nonrealistic (page 1253). This is something that seems to be a very difficult task, so I am not sure how he does this so quickly.
This play employs both realistic and nonrealistic qualities. The realistic part would be that these characters are more modern compared to other plays we have read. They speak in a more modern way, unlike the Shakespeare. Also, some of the qualitites of them can be related to others in our life or seen in today's world. An example would be Amanda's anger towards her husband leaving them, or Tom's annoyance towards his mother. All of this can be relateable. I would say the play has some more nonrealistic qualities though. In the play, the fact that Tom is "the narrator of the play and also an character in it" (p 1236) is very unrealistic. I mean he is telling a story as if it is in the past, but at some parts he is acting like it is happening right then. It is kind of confusing, and very nonrealistic. Also, Tom finding a man so quickly to bring home is nonrealistic (page 1253). This is something that seems to be a very difficult task, so I am not sure how he does this so quickly.
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